Well.... looking for responses regarding ECT from people that have had it or been through it. Thanks

I have been through two rounds of ECT, and my husband went through one round. I even have a close friend/co-worker who went through ECT.

We had each become severely depressed and suicidal, and had been hospitalized for several weeks without any improvement via medications. All of us found good relief from our depression through ECT treatments and were able to be discharged from the hospital after the first 3 treatments safely.

My first round of ECT was 8 treatments every other weekday. My second round a few years later was 9 treatments. All of my treatments were unilateral and while I had some temporary, short-term memory loss for the time period surrounding the treatmnets, once treatments were over my memory issues went away. I was able to resume full-time work shortly after finishing treatments.

My husband had a total of about 15 treatments. They started bilaterally with him, so his memory issues/disorientation was more severe than what I experienced. It took him longer to respond to the treatments so they did more to eventually reach the same effect I did. He, too, got past the memory issues fairly quickly once the treatments were over and resumed working.

My friend's experience was closer to my husband's as she also started bilaterally. She took a bit more time away from work; might have been because she was quite a bit older. But she resumed working full-time a few months later with no problems.

None of us stayed depression-free forever. ECT is not a cure; it is only a treatment, and the results don't generally last forever. Some people do maintainence ECT every so many weeks to maintain the effects. Personally, I wouldn't do that, but it works well for some to do that.

Some people have greater problems long-term with memory deficits and sometimes cognitive problems. Some people don't respond at all and get no relief.

The problem with ECT is there is no way to predict how an individual will respond to the treatments, so if you decide to do it, you have to realize it is a bit of a crap shoot. It was one I was very willing to take; however, as my only other option was longer hospitalization, possibly long-term which would have kept me away from my home, my husband, my sons, and my job. That just wasn't an option for me. I took the risk and for me it paid off.

My pdoc worked with me very carefully to do all he could to preserve my memory. I requested absolutely no bilateral treatments and he also had me take medication that has been shown to help with memory issues while I was going through treatment. The medication was actually for alzheimer's patients and there was no guarantee it would actually help or not, but it certainly didn't hurt to take it, and as I had only mild memory issues perhaps it did what he hoped it would.

Educate yourself by really hearing both sides of the issue. Have serious discussions with your pdoc about what kind of treatment he will use, etc. It is a very serious decision to make. Whatever you decide, let us know how it goes for you.

It's for a friend who is on these boards. Clint, you know Clint! He's deciding whether or not to go for it and we started this thread to support him.

Thank you for your input on it. It's most appreciated!

bumping this up for Clint's mom.

[Anneinside]

I have had 3 series of ECT. My most recent series was July of 2011. I had 9 initial bilateral treatments followed by maintenance since then. Maintenance started at once a week and then were stretched out until the current every 4 weeks. I have always had bilateral ECT and have had little to no memory problems throughout my treatments. The last time I quit ECT I had nine months with no episodes, the best I have every done. Honestly, if my pdoc suggested that I stay on indefinitely I would do it. My every 4 weeks of ECT is scheduled through April right now.

[Clinte89]

Thanks to everyone that is helping me to learn more about this illness and for all of your support it means so much to me to know Clint has ppl that he can talk to and compare notes with. It touches my heart to know that ya'll care so much. I also care for all of you and hope and pray that everyone will be fine and can continue to fight the good fight peace to evryone of you that have touched my son's life